This course introduces students to the fundamentals of American Sign Language, focuses on building receptive and expressive skills through a visual-gestural modality, and provides an overview of Deaf culture.

At the end of this course, the students will able to: a. Vocabulary Development 1. recognize and produce vocabulary items in each unit. 2. demonstrate comprehensive mastery of targeted vocabulary words drawn from class items, lecture, and videos. b. Grammatical Features 1. demonstrate comprehensive mastery of target, content-specific commands, questions, and statements in ASL. 2. identify grammatical features within short dialogues in ASL as directed by the professor. c. Conversational and Communication Skills 1. demonstrate comprehension and conversation facilitating behaviors. 2. demonstrate comprehension and production of regulating behaviors (i.e. attention getting techniques, turn taking signals, and others) 3. comprehend short narratives and stories in ASL as signed by the professor, Deaf users of ASL, or viewed on ASL videos. 4. demonstrate the ability to create, conduct and terminate a short content-specific conversation. d. Cultural Awareness 1. analyze and critique competing perspectives of diverse Deaf communities in the United States, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices, and its history. 2. compare, contrast, and interpret differences and commonalities among Deaf and hearing cultures.

Use ASL rubric to assess ASL skills. Course Grading: Tests, quizzes, assignments, participation.